About this project

Photo taken by Kokayi

WHO IS SUBSTANTIAL? P.G. County Maryland born MC, producer and educator, Substantial, first made his debut in 2000 while working with the late Japanese producer, Nujabes. Since then his soulful and introspective brand of Hip Hop music has received critical acclaim from HipHopDX.com and Ebony.com. His videos have appeared on MTV, VH1 and BET, he has performed around the world and collaborated with artists like Kool Herc, Oddisee and CunninLynguists. He has also worked with major brands such as Ford, Bentley, Amazon and UBER all while remaining a best kept secret.

WHAT?To This Union A Sun Was Born -2001, produced by late producers Nujabes & DJ Deckstream, is overdue for a repressing and Sacrifice - 2008(which turns 10 years old in January 2018) has never seen a vinyl release.

WHY NOW? WHY KICKSTARTER?This past year, someone has literally asked if I had copies of my first album at every show I've done. Over the last few months, my sophomore LP has also seen a growing amount of requests for a vinyl pressing. Your request have been heard, now it's time to make it happen!

In order to make this happen it requires a lot of money. It's approximately $8,000 (before shipping) just to do 100 black vinyl copies of each release. This campaign will help better gauge how many copies I should press up and if I can afford to do splatter/color vinyl. Luckily, some of the greatest people in the world just so happen to believe in my music, so there's nothing to worry about. ;)

ARE THE STRETCH GOALS? Yes. Two. Details below.

$12,500: If/When we raise this amount, I'll manufacture a new CD version of To This Union A Sun Was Born and cassette versions of both albums and include them in the rewards for those of you who pledge $100 or more.

$15,000: If/When we raise this amount, I'll do splatter vinyl for To This Union A Sun Was Bornand color vinyl forSacrifice. Everyone who pays $25 or more will receive one of one these two 2LPs. If you pledge $50, you'll get both. Image below.

$15,000 Stretch Goal

Risks and challenges

There are a few risks and challenges associated with this project. If shipping costs are slightly more than I anticipate, I will cover the difference. Also, my wife and I are expecting our second child and she's due in December around the time I plan to begin fulfilling orders. If there are any delays, you will be contacted. Lastly, in the past it has been a challenging to contact some of my backers because they're contact information wasn't accurate. Please make sure you keep your address and other contact information (including email) up to date.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

Wedding Package

I did it before and I'll do it again! If you're in the US, my DJ* and I will MC, DJ and perform at your wedding. You'll get to select half the songs for my set and maybe even perform one with me like the bride at the last wedding!